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Monday, June 4, 2018

An Old Fashioned Tea Party

For years, I've collected vintage plates and platters, tea cups and saucers, and all sorts of pretty little things from thrift stores and garage sales. I've had visions of hosting tea parties with them, and after years of saying I was going to put one together for the spring, I finally did it!

I wanted to plan it for Mother's Day, but my mom and sister were on vacation then, so I scheduled it a couple weeks later. I searched for some authentic recipes and turned them gluten and dairy free, and after shopping for some ingredients and fresh flowers, the prettiest little tea party emerged!

It was meant to be a garden party, so I set up outside near my lilacs and the fence under the canopy of my favorite trees. I set the table with a vintage sheet and my Matilda Jane table runner, and gave each place setting a tea cup and saucer, a few small snack plates, fabric napkins tied up with twine and baby's breath, and a mason jar with pretty paper floral straws.

I had a little dish of buttermints on the table, along with some sugar cookies in the shape of a tea bag (and even tied up with a bit of twine which made them dunk-able just like a tea bag!), as well as a selection of teas, and a crystal pitcher of cucumber water. There was also a cake patiently waiting for us!

For the flowers, I actually just grabbed a bunch from the grocery store that looked the most "tea party" to me! They were so gorgeous...I had a seat directly in front of the big pink gebera daisy and I kept thinking that it was the perfect bouquet for our gathering. I also grabbed a bunch of baby's breath for $3 that I used in decorating the napkins and the cake, and I added some extra to the bouquet as well.

Aren't they so pretty?? I loved them!

Our first course was an assortment of little tea sandwiches. I made a vegan cream cheese and cucumber, egg salad, and pesto and tomato. I cut them each a little differently, held some together with toothpicks, and others I tied up like little packages with chives. We also had some vegan chocolate chip scones with this course, but they didn't make it into any of my photos! I'm not sure how!! My sister did get one with them on their little cake stand, but that's all I've got to share.

We had quite a few little cups of tea with our sandwiches and scones, and soon it was time for the dessert course. In addition to the all-vanilla cake, I also made vegan chocolate covered strawberries. They were the perfect sweet end to our party!

Everything at the tea party was gluten free and dairy free, and some of it was made with sugar 2.0 (and in those cases, those things were also half the sugar and had added fiber and probiotics!). I also made everything in very small portions, so having 2 or 3 of each thing felt more indulgent without being too large of a serving. Everyone in attendance (my mom, my sister, one of our oldest friends, and myself) try to eat in a health-conscious way, so I wanted everyone to feel like they could indulge without feeling awful about it later!

I think it was a great success - we had great weather for dining outside, the food turned out great, we had time to just relax and have some treats while we chatted, and I loved how all of my collected little pretty things came together to make a beautiful table! I felt a little bit like Grandma Donna...bringing all of my vintage plates together and baking my heart out to have an honest gathering with family!

(PS - what feels like a very long time ago now, I hosted my first tea party - it was a bridal tea that I threw for my sister on the morning of her rehearsal dinner. I don't have oodles of details to share, but if you love a tea party, check that one out, too!)

4 comments:

Yes absolutely!!! Maybe when I have more time to put another together I will look into that...I saw ice cubes with edible flowers in them and I thought they were gorgeous!! Thank you so much - I had so much fun putting this together!!